Get off the roller coaster, Michigan's 2007 recruiting class is in

With the arrival of National Letter of Intent Signing Day on Wednesday, February 7, 2007, the Wolverines' coaches were able to bring to a close the odyssey of bringing in the 2007 recruiting class. Twenty players strong, the recruiting class featured at least one recruit per position. (see a breakdown of the numbers by position in Angelique S. Chengelis' article in the Detroit News). Coach Carr held a press conference on Signing Day where he extensively discussed the incoming recruits. However, not surprsingly, he was a little more circumspect when the topic turned to his possible retirement or vacancies on the coaching staff. As for the 2007 recruiting class, fans have high hopes regarding the impact that the new recruits will make on the program. Click here for a look back on the immediate impact that some members of other recent Michigan recruiting classes have had on the program. Go Blue!

Ron Johnson commits to USC

Ron Johnson (a/k/a RoJo) is a no go for the Wolverines as he has just announced his verbal commitment to play for the defending Rose Bowl champion Southern California Trojans. Can't win 'em all.

UPDATE: Rashad Mason has committed to the University of North Carolina. That leaves only Jerimy Finch (who previously de-committed from Michigan) as a question mark as the Wolverines head to signing day on Wednesday, February 7, 2007. The recruiting class currently stands at 20 players.

UPDATE II: Jerimy Finch has announced his committment to the National Champion University of Florida Gators. His choice came a little bit out of the blue as he had allegedly narrowed his choices to Indiana or Michigan. Apparently not. Go Blue!

2007 recruiting roller coaster

With only a few days remaining before the official signing day on Wednesday, February 7, 2007, things have been very up and down for Michigan in terms of recruiting. On the upside, Michigan received verbal commitments yesterday from 5-star CB Donovan Warren from Long Beach (CA) Polytechnic High School and 3-star DT Renaldo Sagesse from Montreal (Quebec) Vieux School. On the downside, the recruitment of 5-star Ron Johnson (#4 in the Detroit Free Press Best in the Midwest) remains a mystery. Although on Thursday it was being reported that Michigan was absolutely ruled out as a destination, it is now being reported that the Wolverines' coaches have re-established contact with the Johnson family. (See Angelique S. Chengelis' post of 2/2/07 on the Detroit News' Big 10 Blog). This is a positive sign but whether this means Michigan is again a serious contender is another matter. Fans will really have to just wait and see on this one. Johnson intends to announce his choice at his church on Sunday. Something that looked scarier than what it turned out to be was the news that WR Martell Webb (who was Michigan's 5th verbal commitment of the 2007 class) was planning to take an official visit to the University of Miami this weekend. It appears that Webb is still solid in his commitment to the Wolverines. One player who did retract a prior verbal commitment to Michigan was Jerimy Finch. Surprisingly enough, there is talk that he is reconsidering his decision and he may end up re-commiting to the Wolverines. No news on which way 4-star WR Rashad Mason (TN) is leaning. Wednesday (signing day) cannot get here fast enough so Michigan fans can get off this roller coaster. Go Blue!

Michigan's 2007 recruiting class

With the February 7, 2007, National Letter of Intent Signing Day rapidly approaching, Michigan is putting the finishing touches on its 2007 recruiting class. In today's edition of the Detroit Free Press, Mark Snyder's article gives a rundown of the current state of the recruiting class. Michigan's recruiting class consists of 18 players who have made verbal commitments including four players who began classes at Michigan in January, 2007 as early enrollees (i.e., QB Ryan Mallett, RB Vince Helmuth, LB Austin Panter, and S Artis Chambers). Michigan's 2007 recruiting class is currently ranked 16th in the nation by recruiting service Rivals.com. Michigan is still actively recruiting one uncommited high profile in-state recruit: Ron Johnson. Johnson (Muskegon High) is said to be leaning towards Michigan but is also still considering Florida, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Southern Cal. It should be noted that Johnson's high school teammate Ashton Leggett committed to Michigan State. Ron Johnson is expected to make his official announcement on the Sunday prior to Signing Day. Analysts have indicated that if Ron Johnson commits to Michigan it would push the Wolverines' 2007 recruiting class into the Top 10. As it currently stands, Michigan has the third highest rated class in the Big 10 behind Illinois (#12 nationally) and OSU (#15 nationally) according to Rivals.com. As for uncommitted out-of-state talent that Michigan has a chance of landing for its 2007 recruiting class, the Wolverines still seem to have a shot with 5-star CB Donovan Warren (CA), 4-star WR Rashad Mason (TN) and 3-star DT Renaldo Segasse (Quebec). Only time will tell. Go Blue!

Jerimy Finch and Marquis Maze opt out of U-M verbal commitments

John Heuser of The Ann Arbor News has reported that recruits Jerimy Finch and Marquis Maze have opted out of their verbal commitments to Michigan and they have each decided to play their college ball elsewhere. The decommitment of Finch is not a surprise as his "commitment" never seemed to be very strong in the first place. (See post of May 12, 2006: Jerimy Finch verbally commits to U-M for 2007...kind of...sort of). Finch has now committed to play for his home state Indiana Hoosiers while Maze will play for Alabama's new head coach, Nick Saban. The loss of the highly touted Finch is going to be viewed by some as a setback as Michigan's secondary is deemed to be short on talent. Even without Finch and Maze, Michigan's recruiting class is expected to be a top-15 crop when national signing day occurs on February 7, 2007. Go Blue!

Jerimy Finch verbally commits to U-M for 2007...kind of...sort of

The Wolverine is reporting that Jerimy Finch has given U-M a verbal committment for 2007. Finch is 6'1", 211 lbs. and is one of the State of Indiana's top high school prospects. He plays Safety for Indianapolis (Ind.) Warren Central High School which is also the alma mater of current Wolverine standout linebacker Chris Graham. That's the good news. The bad news is that Finch may, or may not, ever actually end up in a Wolverine uniform. It seems as if his verbal commitment is considered to be "soft" at this time and he still plans to make recruiting visits to other schools. Finch is, for now, considered to be U-M's sixth verbal committment for the class of 2007.

*Note: Photo of Jerimy Finch from Rivals.com.

Committment of Ryan Mallett---shades of Drew Henson

The blogs have been abuzz over the recent committment of Ryan Mallett the high school JUNIOR from Texarkana, TX. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got him and I'm sure as heck glad we got him over that goofy looking Jimmy Clausen who committed to Notre Dame. However, I can't help but think back to the days of Drew Henson from Brighton, MI. Once burned, twice shy. I remember being SO excited when Drew was coming to U-M. I was one of those goofballs that thought we would win 4 national championships. (As an aside, I see Jimmy Clausen made the mistake this year of forecasting 4 national championships in his team's future). Well we all know what happened with Drew. He never quite lived up to his billing even after Tom Brady graduated and the team was all his. Mallett is only a junior and needs to concentrate on having a great high school senior season. All the hype surrounding him could hurt his development. Obviously, people are excited that he committed to U-M but I try and never to get too "up" on a recruit. If Henson can fizzle, so can Mallett. I hope people go back to focusing on Chad Henne (the starting U-M junior QB) rather than Mallett, the high school junior QB who will (possibly) start for us in the future if everything works out right. Ask Matt Gutierrez about that next time you see him. Oh wait, he transferred.